10 Things You Didn't Know About How Star Trek Got Started

7. Spock Was Almost A Martianamoktime In Roddenberry's original proposal for Star Trek, Spock was accurately identified as "the Captain's right-hand man." But the character's description hardly resembles the Spock we came to know. "The first view of him can be almost frightening," wrote Roddenberry, "a face so heavy-lidded and satanic you might almost expect him to have a forked tail. Probably half Martian, he has a slightly reddish complexion and semi-pointed ears." The red makeup looked awful on camera, so they switched Spock's skin color to light green. The pointed ears remained, despite vehement objections from the network. In fact, somebody at NBC infamously airbrushed a publicity photo to make Spock's ears look human.

Contributor

Debbie Gilbert is an award-winning journalist who's been writing for magazines and newspapers since 1988. A Memphis native who grew up near Graceland, she became a Star Trek fan in 1975.